When it comes to Santa Clara star Bailey Mungaray, it might be easier to keep track of which Bruins teams he doesn’t play on than which ones he does. In his time at Santa Clara High, Mungaray has appeared on not just two teams, not three, but four different varsity squads. Known mostly for his football prowess, Mungaray is currently a starter on the soccer team and each spring the speedster has gone back and forth between playing baseball and starring on the track team.
“Mr. Energizer,” chuckled Bruins’ Head Coach Dan Sequeira after a recent preseason soccer game when asked about Mungaray. “You can see him, he’s in the locker room, changing and all of a sudden, he sees we are taking pictures and he makes a 100-yard dash here really quick. He’s in great shape, has great heart and is the leader of this team.”
During the second to last football game of the season, Mungaray was seen being complimented by opposing players on the field for his toughness. Football Head Coach Burt Codera echoed similar praise for his do-it-all playmaker.
“The other team recognizes when a kid plays with heart, plays the game the right way,” remarked coach Codera. “I mean look at him, he’s all beat up, he’s limping around. He leaves it all out here.”
According to Mungaray’s mother, Marcee Trammell-Tolbert, Bailey has always had a high level of energy.
“Ever since he was little,” confirmed Trammell-Tolbert on her son’s seemingly inability to sit still. “I was a teacher for many years and he went to the school that I taught at. It was a blessing and a curse, whenever he would get in trouble his teacher would walk him down to my classroom and knock on my door.”
The youngest of three, Mungaray followed in the footsteps of his older brother Brandon Mungaray when it came to sports.
“I followed my brother a lot when I was growing up, I always wanted to be with him, because I thought he was cool,” chuckled Mungaray. “When we first started playing football, I just wanted to follow him and play. We stopped playing for a bit, but then he started again, so I started again.”
Mungaray shined for the Bruins football team while playing all sorts of roles. On defense, he played as a corner and came up to varsity as a freshman, getting to play alongside his brother who was a senior. On offense, Mungaray played both wide receiver and running back while also being the team’s main kick and punt returner on special teams.
Currently, Mungaray is considering playing football at the next level. He says he’s talking to a couple of Division III schools and hopes to study environmental studies and sustainability, citing combating climate change as one of his passions.
If a career in football doesn’t work out, saving the planet might just be a pretty good backup plan for Mr. Energizer. After all, Mungaray is pretty much a renewable energy source in and of himself.